Uber CEO Reveals Mind-Boggling New Statistic That Skeptics Will Hate

The valuation of the car-hailing service company Uber has always
given skeptics apoplexy.

One of the most commonly invoked takedowns of the ever-increasing
and mind-blowing valuation levels the company has achieved —
$40
billion at last count — is this:

"Investors are valuing Uber as if it's bigger than the whole taxi
market!"

The implication?

Investors are nuts.

Well, investors are indeed valuing Uber as if it's bigger than
the whole taxi market.

But it turns out that that's not nuts.

In its most mature market, San Francisco, the four-year old Uber
is already bigger than the local taxi market. Much bigger, in
fact.

According to Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, who spoke at the DLD
Conference in Munich on Sunday, the taxi market in San Francisco
is about $140 million per year.

Uber's revenues in San Francisco, meanwhile, are running at $500
million per year.

That's more than three times the size of the taxi market.

And Uber's revenues in San Francisco are still growing at about
200% per year.

Kalanick dropped some other startling statistics about Uber on
Sunday:

Uber's rides in San Francisco are growing 3X per year

Uber's rides in New York are growing 4X per year

Uber's rides in London are growing 5X to 6X per year

Uber has recently revealed "Uber Pool," which will allow riders
to share rides and, thus, reduce their costs. This ride-sharing,
in which drivers will pick up other riders along the first
rider's route, will also increase the use and productivity of
Uber's cars. Pooling will
continue to drive down the cost of using Uber versus owning a car
— thus eventually, perhaps, removing some cars from the
road.